Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 28:8:647279.
doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.647279. eCollection 2021.

Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ulrick S Kanmounye  1 , Faith C Robertson  2 , Nqobile S Thango  3 , Alvin Nah Doe  4 , Nourou Dine Adeniran Bankole  5 , Pape Aicha Ginette  6 , Solomon Ondoma  7 , James A Balogun  8 , Isabella Opoku  9 , Luxwell Jokonya  10 , Thioub Mbaye  11 , Zarina A Shabhay  12 , Ahmed M Ashour  13 , Ana Cristina Veiga Silva  14 , Beverly Cheserem  15 , Claire Karekezi  16 , Fahd Derkaoui Hassani  17 , Nesrine Mentri  18 , Tsegazeab Laeke  19 , Abenezer Tirsit Aklilu  19 , Samuila Sanoussi  20 , Aaron Musara  10 , Jeff Ntalaja  21 , Peter Ssenyonga  22 , Souad Bakhti  23 , Najia El Abbadi  17 , Muhammad Raji Mahmud  24 , Nasser M F El-Ghandour  25 , Amro Al-Habib  26 , Angelos G Kolias  27 , Franco Servadei  28 , Graham Fieggen  29 , Mahmood Qureshi  15 , Ignatius Esene  30 ; CAANS Young Neurosurgeons Committee and WFNS Young Neurosurgeons Committee
Affiliations

Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ulrick S Kanmounye et al. Front Surg. .

Abstract

Introduction: Africa has many untreated neurosurgical cases due to limited access to safe, affordable, and timely care. In this study, we surveyed young African neurosurgeons and trainees to identify challenges to training and practice. Methods: African trainees and residents were surveyed online by the Young Neurosurgeons Forum from April 25th to November 30th, 2018. The survey link was distributed via social media platforms and through professional society mailing lists. Univariate and bivariate data analyses were run and a P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: 112 respondents from 20 countries participated in this study. 98 (87.5%) were male, 63 (56.3%) were from sub-Saharan Africa, and 52 (46.4%) were residents. 39 (34.8%) had regular journal club sessions at their hospital, 100 (89.3%) did not have access to cadaver dissection labs, and 62 (55.4%) had never attended a WFNS-endorsed conference. 67.0% of respondents reported limited research opportunities and 58.9% reported limited education opportunities. Lack of mentorship (P = 0.023, Phi = 0.26), lack of access to journals (P = 0.002, Phi = 0.332), and limited access to conferences (P = 0.019, Phi = 0.369) were associated with the country income category. Conclusion: This survey identified barriers to education, research, and practice among African trainees and young neurosurgeons. The findings of this study should inform future initiatives aimed at reducing the barriers faced by this group.

Keywords: Africa; education; global neurosurgery; neurosurgery; research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Countries represented in the e-survey and the number of respondents per country.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Subspecialty interests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Santos MM, Qureshi MM, Budohoski KP, Mangat HS, Ngerageza JG, Schöller K, et al. . The growth of neurosurgery in east Africa: Challenges. World Neurosurg. (2018) 113:425–35. 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.01.084 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Khamlichi AE. African neurosurgery: current situation, priorities, and needs. Neurosurgery. (2001) 48:1344–7. 10.1227/00006123-200106000-00034 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mukhopadhyay S, Punchak M, Rattani A, Hung YC, Dahm J, Faruque S, et al. . The global neurosurgical workforce: a mixed-methods assessment of density and growth. J Neurosurg. (2019) 130:1142–8. 10.3171/2018.10.JNS171723 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dewan MC, Rattani A, Fieggen G, Arraez MA, Servadei F, Boop FA, et al. . Global neurosurgery: the current capacity and deficit in the provision of essential neurosurgical care. Executive summary of the global neurosurgery initiative at the program in global surgery and social change. J Neurosurg. (2018) 130:1055–64. 10.3171/2017.11.JNS171500 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Federation of Neurological Surgeons . 2016 Neurosurgical Capacity Access by Country - About WFNS | WFNS. Neurosurgical Capacity and Access. Available online at: https://www.wfns.org/menu/62/2016-neurosurgical-capacity-and-access-by-c... (accessed December 9, 2019).

LinkOut - more resources